


Cocoa

by ratchetzelda



Series: The Golden Dragon [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drabble, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 06:17:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13161021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratchetzelda/pseuds/ratchetzelda
Summary: Dragon Queen. Drabble. Part of The Golden Dragon series. Henry and Maleficent bonding.





	Cocoa

When the house was quiet, when Regina and Henry were gone, the little golden dragon gave her reassurance. The bauble her lover made had somehow gotten to Maleficent. Despite it being one little detail upon their Christmas tree, it warmed her — _grounded_ her.

 

It was a reminder that somewhere out there, Lillith was alive, and she hoped she was _waiting_.

 

Christmas had been an experience that was for certain. There had been gifts, and _so_ much food. Maleficent still didn’t quite get the Santa Claus tradition. Why would anybody want a man to break into their home? And why would he be _giving_ them things? _Surely_ he’d be taking them. Over the years she’d had plenty of thieves try to raid her castle.

 

However Regina assured her it was all innocent and ‘magical’ — yet there was no magic involved?

 

Maleficent understood the expression though, and agreed to some extent the day had indeed been _magical_. There was something heart-warming in the way Henry had opened his gifts that morning. Watching him and Regina, well, it made her think of Lily again.

 

And so she thought of the dragon, and remembered to breathe.

 

Everything would be fine in the end. It had to be. Emma would find her. They’d be a family, perhaps?

 

Having only learned about this realm’s festive traditions, she couldn’t help but hope when she did find Lily, she would want to have this with them too. There were so many things she wondered when it came to her. What she looked like. If she had a family of her own. What she did for a living. What her friends were like. So many things…and she tried to guess. She tried to piece her guesses together to build a picture of her in her mind.

 

But no matter whether her picture turned out to be accurate or not, Mal would always think her _perfect_. She just hoped that when it came to next Christmas, she’d have her here too, to share it with.

 

“Hey Mal, is Mom home?” Henry walked into the living room, having just got home from seeing his other mother. Maleficent had been sitting on the sofa, staring teary eyed at that _damned_ dragon — it didn’t go unnoticed either. “Is everything alright?”

 

Henry was so like Regina, even if she hadn’t bore him. She raised him with kindness in his heart — he was such a good boy.

 

“Regina went to the office for a while. It seems even at Christmas your mother can’t avoid work.”

 

Henry noticed she hadn’t answered his question, and walked around the sofa to sit down beside her.

 

“Wanna' talk about it?”

 

What a perceptive young man he was.

 

“It’s ok Henry, honestly,” she breathed. Maleficent didn’t want to trouble Henry with this sort of thing. After all, the situation wasn’t new just for her, but all of them. Up until recently he’d had his mother all to himself, not that he was selfish by any means, but she imagined having another person around would have been unusual.

 

Then again this whole town wasn’t _usual_ by any stretch of the imagination, even for this realm.

 

“How about I make us some cocoa? I know you like that,” she offered, putting on her best smile.

 

“Sure,” Henry stood up. “Maybe I can help you?”

 

“Ok — that’s _agreeable_ ,” that came out so _awkward_ , it made Henry laugh.

 

“Well, maybe it’s also agreeable, that I know you miss my sister.”

 

Maleficent froze and then blinked when he said that — of _course_ it was unexpected.

 

“Mom told me about the sister part, but I guess it makes sense. I see the way you look at that decoration she made — and well, I just want you to know I want to help.”

 

Of course that made her smile. Henry always meant well, he was such a sweet thing, and she could see why Regina had changed for him. 

 

“Oh Henry,” she teared up, and without another word he enveloped her in a hug.

 

“We’ll find her,” he promised. “Me and my Moms, we _will_ find her and bring her home.”

 

Mal squeezed him gently, looking behind him to the dragon on the tree. Now that Henry had said this, the boy that saw the good in everything, and believed. Well, she believed too.

 

“Thank you Henry,” she whispered, and broke the hug. “Now how about that cocoa?”


End file.
